I just cannot for the life of me figure out how Journey missed the bus on this guy. I have never heard a more accurate Steve Perry than him. I played a live recording from his OHIO show last night for friends who are only "occasional" fans and they couldnt believe it wasnt SP. They argued with me...If they truly want the legacy sound you have to get Jason Kelty. He is uncanny. Better than anyone else Ive heard and I love some others. believe me...but credit goes where credit is due.

I'll never forget seeing them play in 1997, while we were all waiting for the Trial By Fire tour to actually happen. I swore I was in the room with 70s Perry. I talked to him after the show for a minute and it was really freaky standing there having a conversation with someone who looked just like Steve used to. I love Jeremy (and the other tribute bands I've seen), but Jason is by far the most Perry-like.

You can't have someone who completely emulates Perry...sound, look, hair, stage presence/mannerisms, etc. That's just too creepy. He's a good singer, sure, but not what Journey needs at all.

My guess is the guy wouldn't have wanted it anyway. He seems to being doing well acting like Perry. If he were to be in the actual Journey band he could not keep that same persona, no way. Fans would hate it and so would he. It would turn both him and the band into a colossal joke.

I've never been much for taking tribute band singers and putting them in the actual band. Seems stupid to me. They need their own identity. Their own style. Arnel was brought in not because he was a Perry actor but rather because he was a good singer and could cover the tunes well. He certainly has his own style which, by the way, is NOTHING like Perry. He had recorded and covered other singers/bands before Journey. He wasn't in a Journey tribute band. He sang other band's songs but he did it in his style.

Being Filipino his phrasing was always different than American singers. Nothing he could do about that. Bothered some people, others loved it. He could hit the notes and sing the songs (his own way) and that is what the band (Neal) wanted. That worked for the first several years but the touring schedule and those songs are a total killer. His voice is going and he can't do that anymore. Even tuned down a step or two, can't do it. That is why all of the ramped up talk of switching singers again.

I have to say, Arnel is a true champ...really. But I have to think he's totally burned out. Singing 35-40 year-old songs that he didn't write, can't emote, and constantly being compared to one of the greatest r'n'r singers of all time has to be a huge grind for him. He reads these post, you know? He sees/hears the comments. Some of them are hurtful. Some are complimentary. And he has more grace in his little body than I can even imagine. He gets tweets about how great Perry is and how he is struggling, etc., etc. and he responds with "I agree". But he is always seen as the placeholder for Perry. Totally not fair to him. I couldn't (and neither could the majority of you) do it. Perry gives him a huge shout-out at the HOF meant as a total compliment but he continues to get toasted for it. Neal, for some stupid reason, is now dedicating "Lights" every night to Steve Perry and then Arnel sings it. WTF? Yet, Arnel takes it like a champ every single night. Again, totally not fair.

You know, everyone (including me) would pay top dollar to have Perry sing with Journey again. Not because he can hit those early-80's notes and sing those songs like before. But because it's "him". He could sing those songs in baritone it wouldn't matter. It would be him. He wrote/co-wrote them. He is the reason we are Journey fans. It would be his voice, his emotives, "his style". No one would expect a 68-year old man to sing like a 30-year old. But it would be him all the same. AND the biggest thing Journey has been missing for all of these years isn't his voice as much as it has been his songwriting and collaboration w/Neal & Gregg and then Jon. That is why so many people hang on to the past, roast Arnel, praise tribute singers, etc.

Back to Kelty... Perry emulates Sam Cooke but doesn't copy him. He has his own style...the style we have loved. Arnel has his own style...some love, some don't, and some expect to see Perry...whatever. This Kelty guy makes, I assume, a decent living copying everything about Perry, which is fine for him but would never work on a grand scale. NEVER work. If you asked him and he were being honest he would say the same thing.

Anyone knocking Arnel for what he is doing should just STFU about it. He is the reason anyone is still talking about Journey. He has done more than his share of work. WAY more than anyone could have ever expected. Perry may sing publicly again one day and he may even work with Neal again (as he says on Twitter). But STOP all of the "they should'a got this guy" or, "how did they miss on him?" crap talk. A total waste of time and not cool.

If I were Arnel I would make this my last tour w/Journey. Life is too short for this shit. Every person's legacy when they leave this earth is their own, not someone else's. All of those guys have their musical legacy locked up. Arnel needs his own legacy...not to be a part of Perry's. I would leave the band and do my own thing and I would do it my way. My own style, my own songs, my own identity. He's good enough to do that despite the Journey song catalogue crushing his voice for the past 10 years, or so. If he succeeds then great. If he doesn't, that's fine too. At least he would be doing his thing his way and not taking all of the undue shit from everybody...including his current bandmate. Neal, that's a dig on you in case you read this thread. (Dedicating a classic song to the former singer and then forcing Arnel to sing it every night...Christ man. Mad respect for you but, really? Is that fair?).

I'd tone down the Perry look-alike dress & hair... and just wear a Infinity/Evolution concert shirt.... I would suggest he get a little more animated onstage a'la Perry... would seal the deal when he starts to sing.. pretty amazing..

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

LazzMan wrote:You can't have someone who completely emulates Perry...sound, look, hair, stage presence/mannerisms, etc. That's just too creepy. He's a good singer, sure, but not what Journey needs at all.

My guess is the guy wouldn't have wanted it anyway. He seems to being doing well acting like Perry. If he were to be in the actual Journey band he could not keep that same persona, no way. Fans would hate it and so would he. It would turn both him and the band into a colossal joke.

I've never been much for taking tribute band singers and putting them in the actual band. Seems stupid to me. They need their own identity. Their own style. Arnel was brought in not because he was a Perry actor but rather because he was a good singer and could cover the tunes well. He certainly has his own style which, by the way, is NOTHING like Perry. He had recorded and covered other singers/bands before Journey. He wasn't in a Journey tribute band. He sang other band's songs but he did it in his style.

Being Filipino his phrasing was always different than American singers. Nothing he could do about that. Bothered some people, others loved it. He could hit the notes and sing the songs (his own way) and that is what the band (Neal) wanted. That worked for the first several years but the touring schedule and those songs are a total killer. His voice is going and he can't do that anymore. Even tuned down a step or two, can't do it. That is why all of the ramped up talk of switching singers again.

I have to say, Arnel is a true champ...really. But I have to think he's totally burned out. Singing 35-40 year-old songs that he didn't write, can't emote, and constantly being compared to one of the greatest r'n'r singers of all time has to be a huge grind for him. He reads these post, you know? He sees/hears the comments. Some of them are hurtful. Some are complimentary. And he has more grace in his little body than I can even imagine. He gets tweets about how great Perry is and how he is struggling, etc., etc. and he responds with "I agree". But he is always seen as the placeholder for Perry. Totally not fair to him. I couldn't (and neither could the majority of you) do it. Perry gives him a huge shout-out at the HOF meant as a total compliment but he continues to get toasted for it. Neal, for some stupid reason, is now dedicating "Lights" every night to Steve Perry and then Arnel sings it. WTF? Yet, Arnel takes it like a champ every single night. Again, totally not fair.

You know, everyone (including me) would pay top dollar to have Perry sing with Journey again. Not because he can hit those early-80's notes and sing those songs like before. But because it's "him". He could sing those songs in baritone it wouldn't matter. It would be him. He wrote/co-wrote them. He is the reason we are Journey fans. It would be his voice, his emotives, "his style". No one would expect a 68-year old man to sing like a 30-year old. But it would be him all the same. AND the biggest thing Journey has been missing for all of these years isn't his voice as much as it has been his songwriting and collaboration w/Neal & Gregg and then Jon. That is why so many people hang on to the past, roast Arnel, praise tribute singers, etc.

Back to Kelty... Perry emulates Sam Cooke but doesn't copy him. He has his own style...the style we have loved. Arnel has his own style...some love, some don't, and some expect to see Perry...whatever. This Kelty guy makes, I assume, a decent living copying everything about Perry, which is fine for him but would never work on a grand scale. NEVER work. If you asked him and he were being honest he would say the same thing.

Anyone knocking Arnel for what he is doing should just STFU about it. He is the reason anyone is still talking about Journey. He has done more than his share of work. WAY more than anyone could have ever expected. Perry may sing publicly again one day and he may even work with Neal again (as he says on Twitter). But STOP all of the "they should'a got this guy" or, "how did they miss on him?" crap talk. A total waste of time and not cool.

If I were Arnel I would make this my last tour w/Journey. Life is too short for this shit. Every person's legacy when they leave this earth is their own, not someone else's. All of those guys have their musical legacy locked up. Arnel needs his own legacy...not to be a part of Perry's. I would leave the band and do my own thing and I would do it my way. My own style, my own songs, my own identity. He's good enough to do that despite the Journey song catalogue crushing his voice for the past 10 years, or so. If he succeeds then great. If he doesn't, that's fine too. At least he would be doing his thing his way and not taking all of the undue shit from everybody...including his current bandmate. Neal, that's a dig on you in case you read this thread. (Dedicating a classic song to the former singer and then forcing Arnel to sing it every night...Christ man. Mad respect for you but, really? Is that fair?).

Wheww!! There, I feel better now.

Way too much to unpack here.

Regarding his Filipino phrasing....yes, it can be changed. The Shirley-produced Revelation disc of new tunes has Arnel singing with barely any diction issues. The re-records (recorded at Cain's house or wherever) are horrible. With Eclipse, alot of time was spent in the studio making sure the accent was not noticeable. I think over time Arnel has gotten better in live performances.

As for whether fans should discuss alternative vocalists to Arnel, I don't see why not. This has been going on forever. When Augeri got picked, many of us said Chalfant had been robbed.

There is no disrespect in dedicating Lights to Perry. Perry co-wrote the thing. If Neal dedicated an Arnel original to Perry, then, maybe you would have a point.

"I think we should all sue this women for depriving us of our God given right to go down with a clear mind, and good thoughts." - Stu, Consumate Pussy Eater

Kelty has been around since the early 1990's. He was on the Journey mailing list way back then and posted often. He is a very cool guy, and of course very knowledgeable. Back then, Escape was getting a decent sized fan following on the forums. A lot of Perry fans loved him as the next best thing to Perry. When Perry released FTOSM and then Journey reunited, Escape broke up for a bit. They only came back together five or six years ago. It seems someone on this forum contacted him and that inspired him to get the band back together.

He still sounds great today...but just imagine how he sounded back in 1991 when he first started.

If Journey ever considered him, they probably passed for the same reasons they passed on Hugo...he looks and sounds EXACTLY like Perry...Kelty even moreso than Hugo. If either had dumped the tuxes and permed their hair, maybe they would have had a chance.

Journey/Survivor wrote:Jason and I are both from Cleveland. I probably saw his Escape band at least 20 times in the 1990's. I had him over to my house once in or about 1994 or 1995 and we traded Journey bootleg concerts.

I know that at that time he very much would have loved to have been in Journey.

Yep, I would not doubt that he wouldn't mind being in the band, then or now. But, honestly, he's a good guy and I wouldn't wish that curse on him if he's happy doing what he's doing.